Eminent domain
photo credit: Steve Soblick
You may have heard the term “eminent domain” before but not quite know exactly what it means or where the term came from. No worries, because we will touch upon it here, and from now on you will at least have a surface understanding of the term.
“TAKINGS CLAUSE” OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT
Eminent domain is the government’s right to take or condemn a piece of private land for public use.
An example of eminent domain might include the routing or re-routing of a public highway system through an already existing neighborhood. The local government, in this example, would seize the private land, usually existing homes, and claim the land would be of better use for the good of the city as a public highway.
The law of eminent domain derives from the so-called “Takings Clause” of the United State’s Fifth Amendment. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of local governments’ ability to use eminent domain for “non-traditional” public uses such as economic development projects.
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